forum The Captive Prince (o/o) closed

Started August 12, 2019 by Deleted user

tune

Edit topic

Fiori's frown deepened and he seemed legitimately upset that Levi wouldn't get to marry as he wanted to. "Well, why not? It seems awfully cruel to keep people from falling in love for any reason."

He made a face, struggling with the decision. Eventually he settled to merely hint at it. “If I married for love most likely I would marry a young man named Mordecai….But then we wouldn’t be able to produce an heir to the throne.”

Fiori blinked when he heard the word 'throne', but he was more focused on the heirs part. Here, in Usige, the throne was given based on merit. Anyone could challenge the reigning king during festival season- so long as they were of age- and if they won they were given the throne as a prize. It was not a task undertaken lightly, most didn't dare, but it kept the kings accountable and strong. "Heir? Why do you have a need for that?"

“So that we have a ruler biologically descended from the previous king,” he replied, “Family is incredibly important to my people. All of the monarchs must be and are somehow biologically related to the establishing rulers of our kingdom centuries ago.”

Fiori's nose wrinkled in distaste. "We fight for our throne every year, and that seems like a much better system to me. What happens if your heir is incompetent? Or a member of the family is infertile? Do you just… get stuck?"

Levi sighed “That’s why the king or queen has several children, on average five. The oldest isn’t always the heir; it’s the most competent one. If they just so happen to be infertile, one of their siblings or cousins acts as a surrogate. Another reason why the spouse has to be the opposite gender.” To him, it made perfect sense, more-so than the religious practices the priests set in place.

"Five!?" Fiori gave Levi a distressed look at the thought. "That's such a burden on the mother, what if she doesn't want that many children? We use a system that lets the strongest or most cunning in the kingdom take the throne so we can prevent things like having to bear five children or suffer an incompetent ruler."

Levi returned a slightly less distressed look back to him, his lips stretched thin and pursed, “You asked for me to tell you about my friend; I didn’t know it would turn into a debate about which kingdom is superior. It’s just how we live, and we’re used to it,” he shrugged. He didn’t have much more energy to defend his kingdom, as he was too tired and hungry to care. He wrapped an arm around his aching stomach.

Fiori ducked his head a little, fiddling with his choker sheepishly. "You're right, sorry. I didn't mean to get so intense, it's just in my nature to pick at wounds." He walked in silence for a few more seconds before he noticed Levi holding his stomach. "You're hungry. Would you like to visit the kitchens? I could get us an early dinner."

Levi relaxed again with a relieved exhale, “Actually, that would be amazing, thank you,” he smiled. “What kind of food do you serve?” He imagined there would at least be a slight difference in his usual diet, but he was curious to know how much of a difference there was. But as long as it was food other than what the slavers fed him, he would be more than happy to eat it.

Fiori hummed thoughtfully. He'd never really thought about what he ate, and he'd been away fighting for so long that he'd practically forgotten the taste of real food. Still, he'd slowly been getting used to everything. "It's all very spicy, mostly meat and things like taro or cassava. 'Course up here at the castle we get a few delicacies: prickly pear and rhubarb and stuff." He shrugged. "It's all wonderful, our cooks are amazing."

“Mm,” Levi closed his eyes to imagine it, “I’ll eat anything at this point, but actual meat sounds delicious,” his mouth was already starting to water at the thought of fruit, meat, and spices. “How far away are the kitchens?”

Fiori laughed, already starting to lead him down a new set of hallways and over to the kitchen. "Not far at all, we'll get there in less than ten minutes. Oh! You can meet Cadmus! I think he works the kitchen around now, you'll like him. He's quiet but he's so sweet. And he'll give you extra food if you ask nicely!"

“Oh neat!” Levi smiled, trying to recall if Fiori had said Cadmus was one of his other close friends. He walked a bit faster to catch up to him again. “Is he a slave too or is he just a regular cook?” He asked more tentatively.

"He's… an asgaidh. A… free… man." The words tasted funny on his tongue, but he let them out so Levi would understand. He slowed down when he realized his friend was jogging to catch up, taking a more reasonable pace. "He was a slave to my mother, freed five seasons ago when he was on the brink of being a man."

“I see,” he nodded, “So if slaves are freed, are they offered transportation to go back home? Or even allowed to leave?” He supposed there was little chance that he would be freed anytime soon, but if there was even a sliver of a possibility, he wanted to know if it would be easy for him to get home.

Fiori bit his lip, but nodded. "Yes, they're given 50 silver coins from the royal treasury to travel. But… only if they want. And many don't, by virtue of how they come to our country in the first place."

He looked over at his face, “That’s good they’re given a chance to go back…but…what do you mean by then virtue of how they came here?” He lifted an eyebrow with curiosity, “Were most of them not just captured like I was?”

"No." It was a short answer, but the only one he felt comfortable giving. "I… most people do not come here by their own volition, they are… given. By… their parents, or the leaders of their cities, or… people with power over them. Or, if they aren't given, many run away. We are… tolerant. We give slaves many chances to be freed after good service." He shrugged.

Levi sighed through his nose. That made…sense, he supposed. The idea of having slaves was just so foreign to him, but he would just have to get used to it, given that he was a slave now. “Is that any different for me? Because I’m a royal, house slave, even?”

Fiori wasn't really used to explaining the whole system, but Levi seemed to be understanding him just fine which was a huge relief. "Yes. You've been designated a personal slave, but most of the slaves you see around here are service slaves. Like… Tharis! She's a service slave because she has a set job; the tailor. But… you are not bound to your job, you are bound to me. That's why you are personal. And because you are bound to me, you have status over any slave who does not belong to myself of my uncle."

“Damn,” he breathed, his gaze falling to the ground to absorb this information. His mind returned to the word pet. Fiori seemed to treat him decently, more like a new friend, and he appreciated it. He’d like to be friends with Fiori, even disregarding the feud between their kingdoms and difference in status. But in others’ view, such as the captain, maybe being a personal slave did mean he was a pet. “So…how many slaves belong to your uncle? Would I ever converse with them?”

Fiori had worked and played alongside slaves for most of his life, so his view on them was different from most nobles. He saw them not as pets, but as people- albeit people in a different position from him and his family. "My uncle owns many slaves. He has… 15. Maybe more, I haven't had much time to catch up with him since I've gotten back home. I think you'll probably run into them at some point, though. They're given free rein to wander the castle grounds."

“I’m interested in meeting them,” he scanned the walls as they walked, taking in every detail. He wondered if his uncle’s slaves had a higher status than himself, but he decided he might just find out later. “But I cant say I’m excited to meet your uncle; I haven’t heard many pleasant things about him—from Tharis, or from the information I’ve been told from my kingdom. Correct me if I’m wrong, but you don’t seem to have a very great opinion of him either.”

Fiori frowned at the mention of his uncle, shoulders growing tight and tense. "You are mistaken," he said clumsily, avoiding eye contact with Levi. He'd never been a good liar, even when the only person he was lying to was himself. "I… I love my uncle. He is a strong leader and a strong man. He has done a good job handling the country while I was… away." Away was mild, but it was the only way of thinking about it that didn't make Fiori want to curl up into a little ball.